A Caregiver Engagement & Fundraising Initiative by Word Image and Margaret Ong, Author of One Husband Two Men
Family caregivers are often expected to provide primary care and support to their loved one with a mental health condition. However, caregiving doesn’t come naturally for everyone, and some may experience resistance, denial or self-stigma. How do caregivers overcome the stigma around mental health and adjust their mindset to become better caregivers to their loved ones?
In this third session, Margaret will be joined by her sons, Jeroemy and Ryan as they talk about their initial resistance and gradual acceptance of their father’s condition.
This is part of Margaret’s effort to help fellow caregivers of persons with mental health issues, and to raise funds for CAL. Together we hope to empower caregivers to achieve a higher level of well-being and resilience in their journeys.
Participants are invited to purchase a copy of One Husband Two Men (English hard copy, English eBook, Chinese hard copy, Chinese eBook) via Word Image. A portion of sales from books purchased between now and April 2022 will be donated to CAL.
About the Book
This is a detailed account of how to preserve yourself and your family while helping your loved one recover from mental illness in dignity.
Margaret candidly shares about the journey with her husband whose bizarre behaviour eventually led to the diagnosis of schizophrenia. A true love story of empathy, courage, commitment and perseverance. She now understands her “limit after going through this humbling experience dealing with schizophrenia.”
She writes, “The journey of primary caregiving has helped me to mature spiritually and taught me the core meaning of faith, enduring love, empathy and social responsibility for others. It has opened my eyes to see the plight of those in a similar boat as Leslie’s.”
“It's not a book on caregiving; it's a book about life, love and survival. Things happened, and sometimes, we can't choose. You teach us how to hold on, make the living worthwhile and never give up hope on our loved ones. The book is simple, enjoyable and straight to the point with living wisdom – a real representation of you. It's really a blessing for me. It teaches me not to give up on love and makes the best of what I have in life. Thank you for being a loving wife and mum and passing on the learning to me.” – Anonymous
“I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves and cares for loved ones who suffer from mental illness. This is a true love story of empathy, courage, commitment and perseverance. A useful and practical guide for caregivers of persons with mental illness, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists and close friends of the sufferer.” – Eunice Quek
About the Author
Prior to 2013, Margaret Ong was Vice President at Hewlett Packard, Asia Pacific & Japan, located in Singapore. After her husband’s diagnosis, she became a Caregiver Volunteer Trainer with Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) in 2014, co-facilitating the caregivers-to-caregivers (C2C) training programme, and participating in advocacy talks to help reduce the stigma around mental illness.
Since January 2020, she has been involved with Caring for Life (CFL), a non-profit organisation that seeks to establish a community approach to early identification of suicide ideation and care. She is currently one of their volunteer trainers.
About the Publisher
Word Image is an independent hybrid publisher and publishing agent providing editorial services. They offer readers a carefully curated selection of books at reasonable prices. They aim to bring in books with diverse views of society and community which may not be available in mainstream bookstores.
A big thank you to Word Image for initiating this virtual book launch and fundraiser for CAL. Do check out their unique selection of titles.
Details
Topic: Destigmatization Starts at Home
Date: 16 February 2022, Wednesday
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm, including Q&A session
Venue: Online via Zoom Details will be emailed to all participants by 9 February 2022, Wednesday
Panellists: Ms Margaret Ong
Caregiver to Spouse with Schizophrenia
Author of One Husband Two Men
Mr Jeroemy Ng
Caregiver to Parent with Schizophrenia
Mr Ryan Ng
Caregiver to Parent with Schizophrenia
Registration URL: Registration is now closed.
The session will be recorded. By participating in the virtual fundraising book launch, you automatically give us consent for you to be recorded with your camera on and name on the screen, or your camera off and name appearing on the recording. If you do not consent to being recorded, please do not register for the session and instead you may watch the recording which will be available one week later on this page.
We welcome everyone to join us for an interactive family panel discussion session with Margaret and her sons.
Past Sessions